Glial and neuronal control of brain blood flow

Blood flow in the brain is regulated by neurons and astrocytes. Knowledge of how these cells control blood flow is crucial for understanding how neural computation is powered, for interpreting functional imaging scans of brains, and for developing treatments for neurological disorders. It is now recognized that neurotransmitter-mediated signalling has a key role in regulating cerebral blood flow, that much of this control is mediated by astrocytes, that oxygen modulates blood flow regulation, and that blood flow may be controlled by capillaries as well as by arterioles. These conceptual shifts in our understanding of cerebral blood flow control have important implications for the development of new therapeutic approaches.     

Design, function and structure of a monomeric ClC transporter

Channels and transporters of the ClC family cause the transmembrane movement of inorganic anions in service of a variety of biological tasks, from the unusual-the generation of the kilowatt pulses with which electric fish stun their prey-to the quotidian-the acidification of endosomes, vacuoles and lysosomes. The homodimeric architecture of ClC proteins, initially inferred from single-molecule studies of an elasmobranch Cl(-) channel and later confirmed by crystal structures of bacterial Cl(-)/H(+) antiporters, is apparently universal. Moreover, the basic machinery that enables ion movement through these proteins-the aqueous pores for anion diffusion in the channels and the ion-coupling chambers that coordinate Cl(-) and H(+) antiport in the transporters-are contained wholly within each subunit of the homodimer. The near-normal function of a bacterial ClC transporter straitjacketed by covalent crosslinks across the dimer interface and the behaviour of a concatemeric human homologue argue that the transport cycle resides within each subunit and does not require rigid-body rearrangements between subunits. However, this evidence is only inferential, and because examples are known in which quaternary rearrangements of extramembrane ClC domains that contribute to dimerization modulate transport activity, we cannot declare as definitive a 'parallel-pathways' picture in which the homodimer consists of two single-subunit transporters operating independently. A strong prediction of such a view is that it should in principle be possible to obtain a monomeric ClC. Here we exploit the known structure of a ClC Cl(-)/H(+) exchanger, ClC-ec1 from Escherichia coli, to design mutants that destabilize the dimer interface while preserving both the structure and the transport function of individual subunits. The results demonstrate that the ClC subunit alone is the basic functional unit for transport and that cross-subunit interaction is not required for Cl(-)/H(+) exchange in ClC transporters.     

Early star-forming galaxies and the reionization of the Universe

Star-forming galaxies trace cosmic history. Recent observational progress with the NASA Hubble Space Telescope has led to the discovery and study of the earliest known galaxies, which correspond to a period when the Universe was only ～800 million years old. Intense ultraviolet radiation from these early galaxies probably induced a major event in cosmic history: the reionization of intergalactic hydrogen.     

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Material Synthetic Design for Fuel Cells

1 Results Hydrocarbon PEM materials are being widely studied as replacements for Nafion-type perfluorinated polymeric materials to reduce cost and improve performance such as operating temperature and methanol crossover in the DMFC application. Among some of the important property considerations required are thermal and chemical stability, low dimensional swelling, low methanol permeability in the case of DMFC and high proton conductivity. Careful structural design can reduce the effect of swelling as...     

Novel putative receptor tyrosine kinase encoded by the melanoma-inducing Tu locus in Xiphophorus

Malignant melanoma in Xiphophorus fish hybrids is caused by the activity of a dominant oncogene Tu. By combining genetic and molecular approaches, we have isolated the melanoma oncogene. We show that its level of expression correlates with the degree of malignancy of the tumour. The corresponding proto-oncogene is developmentally regulated. The Tu gene codes for a novel receptor tyrosine kinase which is closely related to the receptor for epidermal growth factor.